PRELIM SEVENDUST

Okay, so I've listened to the new Sevendust about 13 times or more in the last two days, so it should be enough for me to put together a track-by-track review. Problem is, I got homework. So, I'll paste up the posts I've put up on a Queensryche message board (again, no capitalization, as is my laziness rule in chats and mess boards) at Breakdownroom.com. There's two of 'em.

(number one)
luckily i have been oblivious to radio overplay (no worthy radio stations reach ellensburg) so there's no way i could have been sick of "enemy." and it still rocks.

haven't listened to the whole album yet, just through two tracks. haven't seen the dvd yet. the booklet and the case (digipak, ugh) have lots and lots of metallic silver. as a matter of fact, i don't think there's one bit of color other than black, white, inbetween shades, and silver in the whole package (sans dvd). maybe this album should have been called "14 shades of grey" and the staind album could have been called "the album where we really pigeon-hole ourselves into doing a bunch of mid-tempo nu-metal ballads about everything being messed up in aaron lewis' life."

(number two)
i've had one complete listen to the new sevendust album. the other few have been while i was asleep. just trying to let the songs sink into my subconscious.

mostly good thoughts on my part, and only one bad thought.

i'll go with the bad part first. at times when i was listening to the album, i was mildly afraid that sevendust might be falling into one of those "template" or formulaic bands [later ed.: like linkin park, staind, etc]. why? at times, it doesn't seem like the song structures throw me for a loop or anything. seemed like all the choruses were coming up in the same spots and not sounding too different from one antoher. i was just hoping to be challenged a little bit as a listener, that's all. however, this IS only after one listen, and i AM nitpicking here, so it'll probably be rendered moot once i read between the lines here.

the other things. i didn't think they were going to melodic straight off with the first track. on the other three albums, they went aggressive over melodic every time. result was most listeners were floored (i was) right off the bat. then on "animosity," they got into the melodic stuff ("toab" was the first track, and very aggressive). first two albums weren't much for melodic moments, nor were they intended to be. i didn't think it was possible for sevendust to go even more melodic than on "animosity," but i think they just did. i don't think there's a song on here out of the dozen without a melodic chorus of some sort.

hope i didn't sound too negative at any point, i was just trying to give it a half-objective spin. purely preliminary.

i'm sure i'll be able to get into the nuances and elements of the music later...there's some cool effects and riffs shoved somewhere in there; i just haven't affixed titles to most of the songs i've been hearing yet. more later...